Packard Plant

Project Description

The Packard Plant was first built in 1903 and completed in 1911 (with several additions throughout the years). The Packard Plant was 3,500,000-square-foot automotive plant, designed by famous Detroit-architect, Albert Kahn. It is located on 40 acres of land at East Grand Boulevard and Concord Street, on the city’s east side. It is famous for being one of the largest automobile production complexes in the world and for the first use of reinforced-concrete in the United States, for an industrial construction for the automobile industry. The Packard automobile was a luxury car that was named after it’s founder, James Ward Packard. The Packard was produced in Detroit from 1899 until 1958.

The Packard Plant closed in 1958, though other businesses operated on the premises until 2010, when the last remaining tenant, Chemical Processing, announced its intention to vacate the premises as well. Since it’s abandonment, the plant has been a haven for graffiti artists, vandals, urban explorers, paint-ballers, and scrappers. Much of the wiring, metal, brick, and other building material has been scrapped. The Packard Plant complex has also been heavily destroyed by fire damage, as the building seems to catch fire every week throughout every summer. The Packard Plant, like the Michigan Central Station, has become synonymous with the abandonment and urban decay of Detroit. People flock from all over the world to get a look at Detroit’s fabulous ruin, known as the Packard Plant.

In 2014, news broke that a Peruvian-investor purchased the once-doomed, former Packard Plant complex. e plans to clean up the site and redevelop it into residential living, office space, and retail space. Although it will take forever to build, it would be another “win” for Detroit.

As of 2015, the Packard Plant is still abandoned. There has been no signs of redevelopment or demolition. However, there is an active security patrol at the site to ward off any one that dares to enter.